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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25256299">When the shoe is on the other foot</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandom_damnation/pseuds/Multifandom_damnation'>Multifandom_damnation</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Umbrella Academy (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood and Violence, Gen, Good Sibling Luther Hargreeves, Hurt Diego Hargreeves, Hurt/Comfort, Near Death Experiences, Protective Klaus Hargreeves, Talking To Dead People</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:08:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,227</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25256299</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandom_damnation/pseuds/Multifandom_damnation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>People say that when you die, the last thing you see is your life flashing before your eyes.</p>
<p>Diego doesn't know why he's seeing Klaus crouching over him and slapping him with his freezing cold hands, but it's not the most ideal thing for him to be seeing before he finally bites the bullet. It's not quite the worst thing either, though.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Diego Hargreeves &amp; Klaus Hargreeves</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>194</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>When the shoe is on the other foot</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Is this a little bit self-indulgent? Yes. Did I really need to write a scene like this after watching the last-two eps of season one with my mum as a refresher for season two? Yes. Do I regret it? Not yet. I hope you guys enjoy it! I really like the way I turned out! Everybody needs more Klaus and Diego being best bros and Luther not being a prick, right?</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The last thing Diego remembered was the pain, the all-consuming, unbelievable pain that blossomed behind his eyes and spread through his body like poison, his head thumping in tune to his heartbeat, his breaths shallow and frantic. He had collapsed into an alleyway, his back against the far wall, hidden from view of the street behind some upturned rubbish bins. He slid down the wall, leaving a trail of blood in his wake, and the world went dark around him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t sure how long it had been, hours or minutes or days, but someone was crouched in front of him, slapping desperately at his face, patting him up and down, tugging at his uniform, pulling at him. The slaps to the face were sharp and sudden, done by icy cold hands, but nothing compared to the unbearable pain that he was still feeling after all this time. He couldn’t speak because every intake of breath brought a scream to his lips, and he decided it was better not to open his mouth at all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Part of him hoped that this stranger who had found him behind the rubbish bins at the back of an alley was Eudora, but no, Patch was dead and was never going to find him, and he was all alone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blearily, he opened his eyes. He couldn’t see a fucking thing past the tears that had settled in his eyes from the pain, and he couldn’t make out who was before him, but he thought that he could see a thin frame, wild hair, a panicked expression on a semi-familiar face, a leather vest and a neon blue tie and a pair of high-heels and-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Diego!” every sound was like he was hearing it from underwater. “Diego!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When it got to difficult to stay awake, he let his eyes drop shut again, and the hands on him became more desperate, more insistent. He knew he was bleeding, but he wasn’t sure where. He didn’t even know why he hurt so much. He didn’t know anything. He didn’t even know how he had gotten here after the fight that was more like an ambush and how he had survived at all. Who the hell was shaking him? Why wasn’t he dead yet?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was snapped out of his thoughts by a blinding blue light that shone through his closed eyelids, and then there were two pairs of hands on him lifting him up off the floor. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Two? </span>
  </em>
  <span>He thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Where did the other guy come from?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, he managed to get to his feet and it was a miracle that he stayed there, considering his legs felt like jelly and he felt like he was going to faint. Slowly, he was dragged through the alley and into the streets, and he spared a thought towards regarding whether or not these people were dangerous and if letting them drag him wherever they wanted was a bad idea, but there wasn’t anything that he could do about it. It took all his concentration and energy just to keep his feet under him. There wasn’t going to be much fighting on his end.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It felt like forever, but eventually, he was given another pat-down and something was removed from his back pocket- why couldn’t he remember what was in his pockets?- and then a door was being swung open and he was being carried over smooth linoleum and down a long, narrow flight of stairs. He heard the jangling of chains, the squeaking of a rusted door, and he thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>great, this is where they kill me,</span>
  </em>
  <span> but then he was unexpectedly dropped harshly onto a bed. Not the softest bed in the world, but it was a matrice under his head after sleeping against a wall for who knows how long, so he would take whatever he could get. Someone started stripping his uniform off of him, unbuckling the straps and pulling his shirt up and over his head and undoing his belt and tossing it all to the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could hear frantic conversation above him, and he opened his eyes wide enough to see, clearer now than before when he’d woken up to pain and confusion and was holding back tears, to see Klaus waving his arms about and the faded image of Ben looking concerned and confused, arguing back just as harshly. There were so many things he wanted to ask, so many things he wanted to say, but all he could do was croak out, “K-Klaus?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Immediately, the arguing stopped and Klaus turned his wild eyes to the man on the bed. “Diego! Holy fuck, dude! Where the hell have you been? You scared the fucking shit out of me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What-?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, <em>what</em> is exactly right, motherfucker,” Klaus yelled as he manoeuvered around the small room. “Now, where the fuck do you keep your pills? I don’t know if they’re for you or for me yet- Ben, I was joking, I fuck around when I’m scared, it’s fine- but I know that if I don’t give you something I’m going to lose my shit. You’re phone too, where would that be?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diego closed his eyes again. “Where…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Never mind, I found them. Jesus, Diego, and you guys call me a slob. Look at this place. It’s a fucking mess,” when he approached, Diego heard the distinct shaking of pills in a medicine bottle. “How many do you normally take? It says to take two, but I feel like you’re the defiant type who doesn’t have to listen to the damn instructions. Also, this looks really bad. And I don’t think two is going to cut it if you want my professional opinion. Yes, <em>Benny</em>, I’m considered a professional. I’ve had years of experience, that’s what a professional is-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just give me four,” Diego managed, holding a hand out. Klaus, thankfully, didn’t mention that it was trembling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A man after my own heart,” Klaus joked as he shook four pills into his own hand before slapping them into Diego’s. His whole body rocked with the moment and he grit back a groan. “Oh. Sorry. Hang on, let me get you some water-” he didn’t have a chance to finish before Diego clapped his hand to his mouth and threw the pills back without a second thought and swallowed them all dry. “Right, OK, of course you can do that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Klaus,” Diego muttered and he felt Klaus come closer to hear him. “How did you find me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Honest to God, dumb fucking luck,” Klaus said and Diego felt his heart clench at the thought. “Now sit tight. I’ll uh… I’ll figure something out. Do you have a first-aid kit or something around here? Som bandages? Maybe a box of bandaids with cute animals and Disney princesses on them?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“First-aid kit?” Diego frowned. “Why do I need a first aid kit? It’s not that bad. I’ll just sleep it off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, I think the fuck not,” Klaus said. “You’re beaten to shit, Diego. The only way that I knew it was you was because of that damn tattoo and the stupid outfit. So no, you’re not going to ‘sleep it off’, and if Grace was here, she’d kick your damn ass for even thinking that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The thought of his mother made something swell in Diego’s chest. He thought that he was going to die in that alley, alone and in pain and covered in his own blood. The fact that he might never have gotten to see her again, that he would never get to say goodbye, caused him more pain than any injury he could ever sustain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, Klaus was by his side again and was gently rubbing a wet cloth over his blood-speckled torso, wiping away the grit and grime of the terrible night, and though Klaus was being as gentle as he could manage, Diego still hissed at times. There were crudely applied bandages and bandaids and an icepack was placed under his head, a shock to his system. It was over as suddenly as it began, but then again, Diego hadn’t been the best at keeping track of time recently. He still had no idea how long he’d been lying in that alley for. But then Klaus was draping a blanket over him and taking the now-melted icepack away from under his head. “You can take a nap now, Diego. I’m not going anywhere. I’m just going to make some calls, but don’t worry, Ben will be by your side the whole time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now that he had permission, Diego shut his eyes one last time, comforted by Ben’s presence that he couldn’t really ensure, and was swallowed by darkness once again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Distantly, as though waking to fog, he heard Klaus just outside the open door, harshly whispering into the phone he had found plugged in beside the fridge. “Yeah, I know it’s late, asshole, but I need you to get your ass to Diego’s place, right fucking now. Yes, the one under the gym, what else would I be talking about? I don’t know, man, but he’s not looking good. I found him unconscious in an alley. He’s bleeding- I don’t know from where though. He’s bruised, and he’s tired, he’s been asleep for a while. But he’s really hurt, and I think you should get down here as soon as you can because I really don’t know what I’m doing. Yes. Uh-huh. I mean, I tried to take care of him as well as I could, but he doesn’t have much here, and I don’t have many skills in this department. Uh-huh. Four. Of <em>course</em>, I didn’t force-feed them to him, but I was prepared to. OK. Alright. Thanks. I’ll see you soon then, I guess.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was the last thing he heard for a very long time until he was woken by the now-familiar sound of frantic conversation, and he opened his eyes once again to see Klaus by his head, and a new figure, large enough to block out the light.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He felt exponentially better compared to when he had fallen asleep, and he even managed to sit up and swing his legs off the bed, supporting all his weight without the aid of anyone else. “Luther?” he asked as he ran a hand down his face. “What the hell are you doing here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Klaus called me. Told me I should come,” Luther was frowning, and Diego didn’t even need to see his face to know that. “What were you thinking, Diego? We were supposed to do it together. You promised me you wouldn’t go after them alone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diego didn’t know what to say to that, so he didn’t say anything at all, and focused on categorizing where all the pain was coming from. Thankfully, Klaus filled in the silence in that way that he did. “Do either of you want to tell me what the hell is going on here? Considering I’m the one who saved Diego’s life and all, I think I’m entitled to a little bit of information.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There were a bunch of pricks held up at a warehouse just outside of town,” Luther said reluctantly. “They were breaking into houses and robbing banks and hurting lots of innocent people, and we were going to stake it out tomorrow night and take them down if we could.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you didn’t think to tell any of the others about this?” Klaus insisted. “You don’t think Five would have <em>loved</em> to kill some assholes? Me? Ben and I would have loved to be included, and Vanya would have at least liked to be invited! Allison probably would have complained, but she always does that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Diego chuckled, he subdued a wince at the pain that shot through his body. “Yeah, you’ve got that right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Diego, this is not a laughing matter,” Luther insisted, sounding more concerned than angry. “You could have been killed. What were you thinking?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Diego protested. He hated having to explain himself, and to Luther of all people. “I didn’t leave today expecting to get into a fight. I was walking past on my way back and they were all there already and I just went in. They had a bunch of drugs in the back of a truck, Luther. I couldn’t just leave it. Maybe if you ever answer your phone, I wouldn’t have to go in by myself."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m here now, aren’t I?” Luther argued. “And thanks to Klaus, you’re not dead in a ditch somewhere.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dead in an alley somewhere, actually, but close enough,” Klaus muttered as he busied himself riffling through Diego’s tiny second-hand fridge. “Your snack choice is abysmal, by the way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks to Klaus,” Diego laughed “I never thought I’d have to hear that, but you’re right. I’m going to be honest, Luther, it was really bad for a second there. I thought I was going to die.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You look like shit, Diego.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I feel like it too,” he waved vaguely around the room. “You can sit down, you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I thought about that,” Luther sighed as he glanced around with a grimace. “But there’s nothing in here that I could sit on without crushing or breaking or something. This place is tiny enough as it is, I don’t know how you can cope. I feel like I’m suffocating.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Diego shrugged. “You have to live with what you can get. Not all of us get to live in a mansion for our whole lives.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Or on the moon!” Klaus interjected, his voice muffled with his head still stuck in the fridge.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luther looked sadly at Diego, hunched over on the bed, wincing at every minute movement, trying to stay upright. “Maybe you should come and live with us for a while, Diego. Grace could take care of you for a bit, I can make sure you’re not going to die in your sleep. I just think it will be better.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t do that,” Diego shook his head. “Some of us have jobs. I can’t just not show up, that’s the only reason I can keep this place.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you’re not going to be doing any work in this condition, surely,” Luther argued. “You’d be mopping up your own blood by the end of it. I can talk to your boss. I can be very persuasive if I want to be, you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, I get it. You’re big,” Diego said. He glanced up to where Klaus had shut the fridge door and was now standing on his toes to look at the top, coughing at the dust and pulling down empty beer bottles and rattling containers that once housed pills and now held whatever remained. He looked unfazed, but his hands were still tinted red from Diego’s blood, and he sent glances back to where he sat on the bed. “What do you think, Klaus?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Klaus paused, mouth open as if he were about to get into an argument, with Ben or Luther or Diego, nobody was sure, but he changed his mind when the words finally made sense in his brain. “What do I think about what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you think I should stay at the mansion for a while or stay here?” Diego repeated like it was obvious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um,” Klaus looked so confused that it was almost funny. “And my opinion matters because…?”<br/></span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because you saved my life,” Diego said. “And not for the first time, either. I want to hear what you have to say. You found me in that alley, brought</span>
  <span> me here in one piece, make sure I didn’t bleed to death and called someone else to come and help. I think that you at least deserve a little say in what happens next. Whether I listen to it or not is a different question entirely, but I at least want you to have an opinion."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a short pause as Klaus exchanged an unreadable look with the far wall- and Diego could only hope that Ben was standing there- before he said carefully, much too carefully, “Well, if you really want my opinion, I think you should come and stay with us. The mansion is big enough for all of us, and it’s too empty and cold with just us and Allison. Vanya and Five don't stay, and Grace is… she’s still a little broken if you know what I mean. I wouldn’t say no to the company, and I know that Ben agrees. I’d also appreciate not worrying about whether or not you've kicked the bucket in the middle of the night or something. The last thing I need is for you to randomly show up as a ghost after choking on blood in your sleep or something, you know? One brother is bad enough. So yeah, I’d sleep easier knowing that you were just in the room next door, and I can send Ben in to check on you if I get worried.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You send Ben around to spy on us? That’s really weird, Klaus,” Diego said, and he was only partially joking. “Alright. I guess I’ll come with you. But I really need to talk to Al to try and get a couple of days off. Short term is alright, but if I have to live with you fuckers for an extended period of time, I might start to pull my hair out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luther was smiling. It was a weird look on him, but Diego couldn’t say that he disliked it. “That settles it, then. Klaus, you pack some things for him, and I’ll bring the car around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turned and exited the room, hunching a little to fit through the door, and that left just Klaus and Diego and possibly Ben alone in the tiny room-turned-home. Klaus began collecting clothes from around the room and shoving them into a duffle bag, reaching for the knives Klaus had taken from his person while he was resting and strategically placing them in certain pockets of the bag, along with his keys and his wallet and his police radio that was almost always on. “Thanks, Klaus,” Diego said eventually. “I mean it. If you hadn’t found me… I don’t even want to think about what would have happened.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t mention it,” Klaus replied absently. He paused suddenly and looked at Diego with a sheepish expression. “I actually lied before. I didn’t find you by dumb luck. The alleyway and the street were filled with lots of recently dead ghosts and I just assumed that there was nobody else on the planet who could kill that many people with so many different ways of stabbing and slashing and stuff, so Ben suggested that I go check it out. It was obvious if I thought about it, though. I’m just glad that it was one of the only times I decided to listen to Ben."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My hero,” Diego snorted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, don’t get used to it. I’ve used up all my heroics for the rest of the year.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Only if you don’t get used to me staying with you and Luther. I won’t be sticking around if I can help it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, I’ll never get used to your snoring. It drives me crazy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! I don’t snore! You’re confusing me with Luther and his huge head.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You do so!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do not! <em>Klaus</em>!”</span>
</p>
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